Erika
by Flagger
Summary: The Straw Hat Pirates come to a island where they find a girl who is very...strange. A lot better than it sounds. T for voilence and the occational swear word. My first OP fic. May be Zolo x OC, but maybe not.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, people! This is my first "One Piece" fan fiction, so I hope that you'll take it easy on me. I don't have much experience with the characters, so I'm sorry about that. The only things I own are the name of the island, Erika, and any other original characters that I throw in there. Everything else belongs to...someone other than me. Oh, and I based Erika'slooks and personality off the Phantom of the Opera (Erik) who I don'town either. : )

Anyways, here's the first chapter.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Usopp shouted from the crow's nest. "I think I see an island up ahead!" Luffy quickly climbed up to the crow's nest to join him. He cheered when he saw it, too.

"What island is it?" he asked Usopp.

"I don't know!" he responded. "I just said that I saw it!" Nami joined them up there and had a look.

"It's Mutao Island," she said. "I've never been there, but I've heard a little about it. It's supposed to be swarming with fugitives and pirates. It's not a very nice place."

"We could get more people to join our crew!" Luffy declared, grinning widely. "We might find that musician that we've been hoping to find!"

"Correction: the musician that _you've _been hoping to find," Nami said. She let out a small sigh. "I'll go wake Zolo and Sanji up." She climbed back down to the deck.

"I say we should just skip this dangerous island and find a much nicer one!" Usopp suggested, looking scared. Luffy laughed.

"I can't wait until we get there!" he said. "There're sure to be lots of cool pirates that we could get to join our crew!" He left the very scared-looking Usopp and went down to the deck. Nami, Zolo, and Sanji were waiting for him.

"Nami told us that we're heading to Mutao Island," Zolo said.

"Uh huh," Luffy said, grinning. "We're going to find a musician!"

"_Maybe,_" Nami said. "I wouldn't count on it, though."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Sanji said, lighting up a cigarette. "I could use some background music while I cook. Makes for a better atmosphere."

"Well, we'll be there in half an hour," Nami said. "We need to get ready."

Thirty minutes later, they had reached the shore. They dropped their anchor and walked out onto the beach. They could see a small town a short distance away, and they went there first.

"Hey, look!" a person shouted a soon as the Straw Hat Pirates had entered the town. "Newbies!" A gang of tough-looking pirates stepped out from the dark alleys between the houses and blocked their way.

"You need to pay a fine to get into this town," the leader of the group said, grinning evilly. "Either that or we have to rough you up." A few of the pirates in the group cracked their knuckles menacingly. Zolo stepped forward and drew one of his swords.

"I'd suggest that you let us get by," he said threateningly. The lead pirate didn't even flinch.

"You're Roronoa Zolo, right?" he asked. "You're that pirate hunter from the East Blue."

"Yes," Zolo responded. "So stand aside." The man didn't budge.

"I've been looking for a good challenge," he said. "What do you say to a duel?" Zolo grinned.

"You're on," Zolo said, drawing his other two swords and clenching the hilt of one of them between his teeth. "And if I win, you let us pass without paying the fine." The man nodded.

"Deal," he said. He drew a katana and lunged at Zolo, who parried the attack with ease. Before the man could even blink, Zolo had knocked the katana aside and made a deep gash in the man's chest. The man cried out in pain and dropped his sword. Zolo went to finish him off, but several of the watching pirates stepped in the way and blocked Zolo's attack.

"That wasn't a fair battle!" the one in the middle yelled.

"Hey, he's the one who challenged me!" Zolo said indignantly. "And I just won!"

"We aren't going to let you pass," another declared. "You have to fight all of us!"

"Stop playing your games, you fools!" a feminine voice called out from behind the crowd. They spun around to see a tall, thin girl dressing in a black cloak with long black hair and a white mask covering her entire face standing there. Two amber eyes glared out from behind the mask, causing fear to run through the crowd of pirates.

"It's Erika!" one of them cried and they all scampered like children who were afraid of being punished.

"That's right! Run like the cowards you are!" she yelled after them. She looked to Zolo and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. "I apologize for whatever inconvenience they may have caused you. They have been terrorizing this town for the past few months. I seem to be the only one that they are truly afraid of."

"Why is that?" Zolo asked. This girl didn't look all that dangerous to him. She grinned beneath her mask.

"Because I can kill them all if I wanted to," she said simply. "It would take little to no effort on my part to do so."

"Then why do you let them scare the town?" Luffy asked, looking confused.

"They work for someone who I dare not mess with," she replied. "He is the ruler of this island."

"Who is he?" Nami asked.

"His name is Julian Marquis," Erika responded. She looked up at the sun for a moment to check the time. "I must be going. Au revoir." She turned to walk away, but Zolo grabbed her arm to stop her. In a fraction of a second, she had Zolo on the ground with the end of a rapier pointing at his throat. "_Never _touch me," she hissed. The others were stunned.

"How did you do that?" Luffy asked, mystified. _She has to join my crew, _he thought.

"Quite easily, actually," she said, removing the sword from its position above Zolo's throat and sheathing it. "Now, _good bye._" She began walking away, and this time no one tried to stop her.

Zolo climbed of the ground and stared after her. The way she had moved—so quickly and so gracefully—was eerie. "Erika, huh?" he muttered to himself. "I'd better remember that name."

"Yeah, you'd better," Luffy said, "because she's gonna join our crew! Wasn't it so cool how those pirates ran at the sight of her! Wow!"

"Yeah, 'cool'…" Zolo said. _She may be a better swordsman than I am. I need to challenge her and find out for sure. _

"Let's go get some food!" Luffy suggested. His stomach rumbled loudly and they all laughed.

Erika watched them laughing from the shadow of a house. _Just keep on laughing, _she thought. _I hope that we do not meet again. Especially Roronoa Zolo._

_

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_

There it was. I hope you liked it. If you can help me with anything, please let me know via e-mail or review. Please review even if you don't have constructive criticism. I'll update again after I get...hmmmmm...three reviews? Sounds good to me. Okay. Three it is. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! Here are my responses to your reviews:

Kanthia: . . . I know that you were just trying to help, but you made me feel terrible. This is my first One Piece fan fiction. Of course they're going to be out-of-character. I'm not that familiar with the characters. I haven't written a lot offan ficswith them in it. As for the "Sue" thing, I reallyhave no idea what you're talking about. Erika's entire character is based on the Phantom of the Operain a female form(whoISFrench,in case you didn't know that). As for the "no french" thing: there are plenty of characters in the anime show (American version) who have french accents. Also, please don't write a book for a review.It'sharder toread than the smaller, to-the-point reviews. Thanks for reviewing, though.

icefox35: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked it.

Black Fox: I thought I might find a Phantom person or two...Awesome! I'm really glad that you liked it.

cassity: Thanks a bunch for the review. Here's another chapter for you all. . .

* * *

"I'm stuffed!" Luffy declared. They were sitting in the local restaurant. The buzz of chatter was ringing all around them from the other tables.

"I would hope so, Luffy," Zolo commented. "You just ate fourteen helpings."

"Speak for yourself, Zolo," Usopp said. "You've already had fifteen."

"What!" Luffy cried. "You can't have had more than me!" He slapped more food on his plate and started stuffing his face.

"Don't make yourself sick," Nami advised. Sanji laughed.

"With this food, it's hard not to get sick," he muttered under his breath. He looked around the restaurant for a moment before saying, "It's her!" They all looked where Sanji was pointing. Sure enough, there was Erika. She was talking with the bartender, though it looked like she wasn't ordering a drink. They continued to watch her, and they saw her glance in their direction. She said one last thing to the bartender before quickly leaving the restaurant.

"What was that about?" Nami asked. She heard the chair beside her slide along the floor and she saw Zolo leaving the restaurant to follow Erika.

"Zolo?" Luffy called after him. He left the table to follow them, leaving Sanji, Usopp, and Nami behind.

"I'm going after them," Sanji said. He got up to go and Nami did, as well.

"You coming, Usopp?" she asked.

"No way!" Usopp declared. "I'm not going out in the dark of the night to follow a creepy girl!" Nami shrugged.

"Suit yourself," she said, and she followed Sanji out the door. A waiter walked over to their table.

"Your bill, sir," he said, passing Usopp the paper. At one glance over the paper, he jumped out of the chair, shouted, "Wait up, Nami! I'm coming!" and ran out the door.

Zolo caught up with Erika on the outskirts of the town. He was gasping for air, having run the whole way, but Erika was completely fine. "Why are you following me?" she asked him.

"I want to challenge you to a swordfight," he replied. Her amber eyes narrowed slightly.

"Why?" she inquired.

"It is my goal to become the world's greatest swordsman," he answered. "I can't do that until I've beaten every swordsman who is better than me."

"And you think that I am better than you?"

"I can't take that chance," he said.

"I do not wish to fight you," she said. "At least, not right now."

"When?" Erika shrugged.

"When you're ready to fight me."

"I'm ready to fight you right now!" Erika drew her sword, but decided better of it and sheathed it again. She could sense that someone was watching them. She looked over in the direction of a tall man who was standing there, hidden by the darkness.

"Erika Massenett," he said.

"Yes?" she asked him, cursing mentally.

"The boss wishes to speak with you," the man said. She was afraid of this.

"Well, you can tell him to go find a nice cliff to jump off of."

"We thought you'd say something like that." More men appeared, and they formed a circle around Erika, blocking off any escape routes. "And we also came with enough firepower to kill you in case you did." Each one of them pulled out a gun.

_Damn! _Zolo thought. _If they kill her, I can't fight her! _

"You'd try shooting me in the dark?" Erika asked with a small laugh. "And in a circle, too. All one of you has to do is miss and one of your companions will be killed."

"We won't miss," the first one said. "You may be able to see in the dark like a wretched cat, but that doesn't mean that we can't see well enough to hit you."

"Fair enough," she replied with a small sigh. "Ready to try your luck, then?"

"Fire!" he shouted. There was the sound of a dozen gunshots and, like Erika had said, the ones that missed hit the people who had been surrounding her. There were several cries of pain, and in a second, Erika had quickly finished off all the ones who were not killed by the bullets. All of them, that is, except the leader.

"I'll let you live," she said. "I'm sure you won't make the same mistake twice." The man fled as quickly as he could. She let out a small sigh. "Zolo, you'll have to wait a while to face me," she said before collapsing. Zolo ran over to her and managed to catch her before she had hit the ground.

"Zolo!" Luffy cried. He had arrived just in time to see Erika fall and Zolo catch her. "Is she okay?"

"What happened?" Sanji asked. Nami and Usopp were close behind him.

"A man came to get her," Zolo explained, straining to see where she was hit through the darkness. "I think he works for Marquis. She refused to go with him. She was shot."

"Is she alive?" Luffy asked. Zolo nodded.

"We need to get her to a doctor," Usopp said.

"There are no doctors on this side of the island," Nami said, having asked a villager about that earlier. She figured that they may need one by the end of this. "We'll have to just take her onto the ship and do the best we can."

"What are we waiting for?" Zolo asked, beginning to carry her in the direction of the ship. "Let's go!"

* * *

I'll post another chapter after I get a few more reviews. Also, if any of you have any interesting plot ideas for this, could you email me and tell me? I have the next two chapters or so nice and planned out, but I don't know what to do after them. I'd really appreciate some ideas. Constructive criticisms are welcome, but please try to keep them short and sweet. Like my Biology teacher used to say: Keep essays (or in this case, reviews) like skirts--long enough to cover what they need to, but short enough to keep things interesting.

Please review!


	3. Necessary Explanations

**Author's Note: **Yeah, yeah. I know that technically you aren't supposed to devote a whole chapter to an author's note thing, but there are a few things that I need to clear up about Erika. Here are some of the basics about her that I think you need to know:

She wears the mask not because I thought it would be a cool little thing to add in to make her all "Mary-Sue"-ish, but because she has a very good reason to do so. If you are familiar with the Phantom of the Opera, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, wait a few chapters or so. I'll get to the unmasking eventually.

Her character may be based off the Phantom of the Opera, but that doesn't mean that she has to act exactly like him. She's a mix of Erik and me (though more of Erik). Then again, I'm a lot like Erik, so…yeah. I'm just saying that she isn't entirely Phantom-ish. Though she may not be entirely Phantom-ish, she will still have her Erik-like moments. She just won't act like him all of the time.

When she caught Zolo by surprise that first time, she didn't technically defeat him. So, technically, he hasn't "lost" again. I may have to alter my plans for the next chapter or two to keep that little "can't lose again" thing going. Hmmmmm…I'll try to fix that little problem.

Everything about Erika that is "Mary-Sue"-ish is what I got from the Phantom. The black clothing, the almost inhuman strength and speed…it's all him. As is the musician thing, if you didn't pick up on that already. Her eyes, also, are from him. Her coldness toward others is from him, as well. Pretty much all of the things that were making her "May-Sue"-ish were from him.

I can't think of any other urgent little things that I need to clear up at the moment, though I'm sure that I must have forgotten something. Whatever. I'll remember it later.

If any of you have any questions about Erika or comments, mention them in the review and I can try to answer them. Please review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 3

Sheesh. For you people, I had to rewrite this entire chapter to try to get everyone in character. It wasn't easy and it took about an hour, but I think I got them pretty close (key words there being "I think"). My thanks to those of you who have reviewed. If you have any questions or comments, then ask/state them in your review.

Here is chapter three. . .

* * *

As soon as they reached the ship, they went into one of the spare rooms and Zolo placed her on the bed. With the light in the room, they could see that she had been shot in her right shoulder. It was bleeding heavily.

"There's a bullet wound on the other side," Nami pointed out, "so the bullet isn't in her."

"That's good," Zolo said. "But she's losing more blood this way." Nami wrapped up her shoulder tightly to slow the bleeding.

"She should be fine, though," she said. She eyed her mask curiously. "I wonder what's under her mask." She moved to take it off, but Zolo stopped her.

"Leave it on," he said. "If she wanted us to see her face, she would have taken it off earlier." Nami withdrew her hand, looking disappointed.

"I'll stay and watch over her!" Sanji volunteered.

"You'd probably violate her," Zolo said. Sanji glared at him.

"What do you think I am; some kind of pervert!" he shouted at Zolo.

"Well, if-" Zolo started, but Nami cut him off.

"Cut it out!" she yelled. "I'll watch over her if you two have to fight about it!"

"Whatever my Nami-san wishes," Sanji said before leaving the room. Zolo, Usopp, and Luffy followed him.

"What hot heads," Nami said, thinking aloud. She looked down at Erika. "Now that they aren't around…" She went to remove the mask, but Erika's hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"_Don't touch my mask,_" she hissed, her voice full of venom. She released Nami's wrist and her arm fell back to the bed. She appeared to be unconscious again, but Nami didn't try to remove the mask again. Instead, she sat herself down on a chair and stared at the ceiling, unable to wait until morning.

Erika opened her eyes to see Nami fast asleep on the chair. _Good riddens, _she thought. After checking to make sure her mask was on, she sat up, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. The bed creaked, waking Nami from her sleep.

"Oh, good," she said, yawning loudly. "You're awake." She stood up and walked over to the door. "I guess I don't need to be watching over you, then." She left the room, and Sanji came in.

"Oh! Beautiful Erika-san!" Sanji exclaimed. "Why do you hide your beauty with that white mask?"

"You really want to know?" she asked, toying with him.

"Yes!" he responded, leaning closer to her.

"Really?"

"Truly!" His face was a few inches from her masked one when she slapped him.

"Don't _ever _mention my mask!" she barked. "Got it, pretty boy!" Sanji gazed deep into her amber eyes, looking hurt.

"But why?" he asked. Erika climbed out of the bed, seized him by the back of his shirt, and threw him out of the room. She locked the door behind her and sat back down on the bed, her left hand pressed against her shoulder. There was a knock on the door. She sighed heavily and unlocked it. Zolo entered the room.

"Nice going," he commented. "That should deflate his ego quite a bit."

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to know why those men were after you."

"They work for Marquis," she explained simply. "I'm not exactly on his good list."

"Why would that be?"

"Why are you so interested?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.

"No reason. I'm just curious."

"I'm the leader of a resistance group against him," Erika stated. "We cause quite a bit of trouble for him."

"What resistance group?"

"We call ourselves 'The Golden Eye.' You can probably guess why that is. We have meetings and try to screw up all of Marquis's plans."

"Why do you do this?"

"He's an ass hole. Much like your blonde friend." Zolo grinned.

"Sanji's just being himself. He always has girls on the brain."

"He made a huge mistake when he decided to hit on me."

"I noticed," he said with a small laugh.

"Breakfast is ready!" Sanji's voice called from the kitchen. Zolo walked toward the door.

"You coming?" he asked. Erika shrugged, but instantly regretted it as her shoulder flared with pain. She didn't show it, though, and stood up to follow Zolo out of the room.

* * *

That was chapter three. I hope you liked it better than some of the other chapters. I really tried hard to get the characters to be more in character. I'll get better at it as I go along, I hope.

By the way, I have a little comment for you: I know that Zolo made that little pledge never to lose again, but there are better swordmen out there than him, meaning that it is very possible for him to lose again. I'm still making certain decisions about what is to come later in this story, but I need to hear what you guys think on that one. Please review and tell me your opinion on this.


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